By Zephyria 
The system window, which had shown similar phrases for 15—no, 16 years—had changed.
The day count that had been recorded daily stopped, and the quest menu was deactivated, as if decorated with a seal.
At the bottom, a large completion mark was stamped. ‘All Clear.’ He only found out today that such an achievement existed.
Event!
You have become the last survivor of Earth 04408.
You receive the benefit of migrating to an Earth of your choice.
Memories, returned belatedly, flashed through his mind.
Joo-oh thought quietly.
Perhaps the world he had come from was also the setting of some trash game like 「La Vida Blue」?
“Are you really okay? He’s out of it.”
“I told you there’s nothing wrong. I’m perfectly fine from head to toe. How many more times do I have to say it before you understand?”
“He’s just staring into thin air!”
“He’s always been like that.”
Ding!
[Log]
> Day 1
> Day 3
> Day 8
> Day 10
> Day 12
> Day 18
.
.
.
> Day 5,980
Unable to record log.
Would you like to view the log?
The recording function no longer worked. If he had known, he would have written one more log entry a few days ago.
Looking at it now, it seemed that not only the quests but other menus were also deactivated. Joo-oh gently pressed his fingertip into the mattress.
Rrip. Fortunately, with a small sound, the sheet was pierced. It seemed that the installed mods were still intact, just as the layers of accumulated records remained.
Something was strange, but it wasn’t bad. Above all, he was glad that More Form was safe.
Now, Jin Mu-hae wouldn’t run away even after seeing him become big and black, but since the ceiling height in Starlight Road or the Jaegang District didn’t seem to be even 3 meters, one wrong move and he would become homeless Joo-oh.
“Still staring into thin air? Wake up.”
Snap. Jin Mu-hae snapped his fingers in front of his eyes. Joo-oh, finally making eye contact, tilted his head.
“Nothing hurts?”
“Nothing.”
“Not dizzy? Anything uncomfortable?”
“I’m hungry.”
As soon as he said it, he felt like he might start drooling. Did they say he woke up after two days? Then, had he really been lying here for two days without eating anything?
His heart sank. If he was hungry, it would be hard to act rationally. As Joo-oh unconsciously made a sad face, a pair of broad shoulders approached him.
“Hmm.”
Jin Mu-hae hugged him. They weren’t at home, and he hadn’t asked for a hug.
Thinking about it, he felt like he could endure this kind of hunger. Joo-oh leaned into the spacious embrace, rubbing his head and moving his lips in a nibbling motion.
“Of all the things…”
Teacher Jung muttered something as he walked past, but Jin Mu-hae closed his eyes tight and ignored him. Every time he inhaled, he felt a fluffy, soft sensation in his chest.
“What happened?”
“What.”
“Working with West Wind.”
“…I should talk to her now. Since you’ve woken up.”
Could it be that he had just stayed by his side without doing anything while he was asleep? The already good mood soared, and a weak smile escaped his lips.
To think that a unique cutscene he thought he’d missed was waiting for him in an auto-pause state. It was a heart-fluttering situation beyond compare.
“Are you coming along?”
“Would you leave me behind?”
“Haha!”
He liked Jin Mu-hae so much that it was hard to sit still. Joo-oh kicked his legs and burrowed into his embrace several times.
One day 16 years ago, he had suddenly dropped into this place. 「La Vida Blue」 was both a masterpiece and a trash game. Whether it was misfortune or luck, Joo-oh was damn satisfied with this adventure- and thrill-filled game.
「La Vida Blue」 was a sweet and intense action story set in a dystopian society after the apocalypse. As the game’s protagonist, ‘Jin Mu-hae,’ walked into the power struggle of Goryeo City with his absolute favorite, the best-of-the-best Joo-oh, a new ending was given to the long story.
And perhaps his existence here was also judged as part of that ending. The question of whether to continue the ending was clearly directed toward Joo-oh’s memories.
“The best-of-the-best Joo-oh.”
“What are you muttering to yourself?”
One day, blue particles would flutter like snow over this majestic and vast Earth.
From the moment he recalled that beautiful future, Joo-oh could clearly grasp what he had to do.
First… he was going to have a very, very delicious meal.
Then, he would keep clinging to Jin Mu-hae’s back.
And after smelling him and feeling his warmth to his heart’s content…
“I want to go play with Jin Mu-hae.”
“Suddenly? Where.”
“Central, and Bay City, and, um, City Hall too…”
He would be happy. With Jin Mu-hae, Joo-oh could be so at any time.
As Joo-oh hummed like a chirping bird, a pleasant melody echoed through the clinic on the quiet Starlight Road.
♪♩♬♪-.
Epilogue
====
After the great city collapsed, the area became a wasteland.
The traces of people who were murdered or suffocated without even being able to resist burned away completely along with various facilities in Solar City.
Immediately after the attack of the Aberrants, an experiment escaped from a massive underground laboratory.
A creature that was large, with a tail that flicked about, and occasionally scattered pitch-black smoke.
The experiment ran. It had no will or purpose, but since its limbs were intact, it simply ran.
When it got hungry, it swallowed whatever it could find and lay down in a dry, shaded spot.
Sshhh—!
Swoosh!
It was around then that it spotted something like a very large beetle.
‘Handle it here. Drag it down.’
The smell of iron and the burning scent of gunpowder. Amidst that, the faint scent of small, annoying prey wafted through.
The experiment sought food according to its instinct. It was meat with plenty to chew, and meat that was very soft.
‘Aaaagh!’
After swallowing two large things in an instant, a small thing collapsed.
Out of curiosity, the experiment pushed it with the tip of its nose, then pricked up a pair of ears.
At that moment, an unwelcome scent and commotion were felt from far away. The creature quickly leaped from where it had been lying and disappeared into the distant forest.
…From that moment, a change occurred in the artificial lifeform that hadn’t even possessed reason.
NOW LOADING
The tail and claws, which had been mere traces, became sharp.
The smoke grew denser, and a dark, heavy energy flowed.
The already terrifying strength increased exponentially.
Evolution began as it intervened in the ‘world.’
‘You old man. I told you Aberrant traces are scattered everywhere! How many times do I have to tell you to wait quietly in the car before you die without even paying the commission… Huh? What’s that. Found, found it! There’s a child!’
An anonymous experimental Aberrant, which would have normally disappeared without a presence, became the vessel for the world’s leap forward.
The conditions for the final hidden route were fulfilled.
As spring arrived, the atmosphere of the city became restless.
Large and small festivals were held throughout Central and the official residential areas, and as consumption became more active, supplies moved in and out of the city more frequently.
It wasn’t just Goryeo City that was restless. It was also the season when the number of Beast individuals gradually increased.
Consequently, the city’s Defense Force became incredibly busy. Not only the members but also the training instructors volunteered to be mobilized, patrolling the area around the Comfort zone more frequently.
Although they were given corresponding rewards, it was strictly overtime. Even so, while a sweet clock-out arrived before sunset, someone had to head toward the center of Central for a tedious and tiring schedule instead of going home.
“Damn it.”
Jin Mu-hae quietly cursed while massaging his stiff neck.
Click. The pad with scribbled notes under his large hand turned off.
“I’d rather catch a couple more Aberrants…”
Being stuck in a stuffy room on a beautiful day made him suddenly miss those smelly, vicious things.
Why on earth did he tell that person he wanted to read theses without getting stuck…
“Why? What are you solving this time?”
“Finding the god-awful time when the heights of the two starting points are closest: a Ferris wheel with a radius of 20 meters rotating at a constant speed for 40 minutes, 2 meters above the ground… and a Ferris wheel with a radius of 18 meters rotating at a constant speed for 30 minutes, 3 meters above the ground.”
“Hmm… it’ll be roughly 16 minutes.”
“I didn’t ask you to tell me.”
A new year had come. Only upon turning twenty-five did Jin Mu-hae begin systematic study for the first time.
From basic subjects taught in advanced academies to cognitive learning with added politics and psychology, he was hammering into his head the content that others spent years striving for to enter the research institute.
That was the condition West Wind set after the contract. To acquire as much ‘common sense’ as possible in various fields and develop his perspective.
In exchange, Mu-hae was given the authority to decide on important matters before and after the birth of Starpath’s new project.
It wasn’t a simple succession; it was the qualification to oppose her in the manner he desired, regardless of rank, from the perspective of a business partner.
“Is Director Gil not moving?”
He had also lifted the residential restrictions placed on a few individuals. He found out later that it was actually a deal Teacher Jung and West Wind had made over 20 years ago.
‘It probably won’t work.’
West Wind had said it to herself, and at the time, he hadn’t understood what it meant.
He realized it when he tried to get a house in the Jaegang District with the money he had saved up.
Director Gil refused to leave Starlight Road. He had lived in one place for over 20 years, and he claimed that the customers who could be called his source of income all came through the electronic store.
‘Teacher Jung doesn’t seem to like it here. Right.’
‘Don’t say that kind of thing in front of the person involved.’
‘I guess Director Gil stayed because he was sick.’
Well, that might not be a complete lie, but there was likely another real reason why he wanted to stay in Starlight Road.
Perhaps he felt uncomfortable with old acquaintances who might visit the official residential area. Or perhaps there was still someone who could recognize him.
Though he was curious, just as they had respected Mu-hae’s opinion, Mu-hae decided to observe their choices.
Even Director Gil, who had burst in while Mu-hae was hugging Joo-oh in the hospital and had a terribly awkward eye-contact moment, had eventually returned without asking about their relationship.
“Pack your things. We’re going.”
“Not doing more?”
“That’s enough for today. We’ll miss it if it’s too late.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Joo-oh slung his backpack over his shoulder. While Mu-hae tidied his rolled-up sleeves and put on his jacket, Joo-oh excitedly stomped his feet and urged him from the door.
“Are we going to the festival now? You’re doing this so we can go to the festival together, right?”
Damn it. He had intended to take him without a word and watch him be happy to death.
The brat’s intuition was getting faster and faster. Come to think of it, Joo-oh had almost stopped staring into thin air at some point.
“I didn’t ask you to guess that either.”
“Hmph.”
“Shrimp-scented pink chocolate potato crumble… was it? The thing they sell at the festival stalls.”
“Yeah! Jin Mu-hae will like it too!”
From the name alone, it sounded like a total disaster. He generously swallowed the words that had risen to the tip of his throat.
Regardless, it was a good thing that Joo-oh’s condition had improved. Because from that day on, it wasn’t just the act of scanning the air that had disappeared.
The brat, who used to flinch more often and wake up from sleep, began to sleep deeply and comfortably at some point.
Had he said he saw the past in his dreams? That he had been lying down waiting for death?
Whether it was a dream, a delusion, or a hard-to-believe truth, Mu-hae had still never properly dug into his memories after that final explanation.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested. Nevertheless, he decided to just wait.
Because one day, he would tell him first. While rummaging through a newly opened Fruit Tornado box to add another piece of plastic to the hundreds of figures he already had, and while sipping milk dyed with all sorts of synthetic colorants, he would laugh softly and say:
‘Actually, I’m not an Aberrant, I’m a biological machine for food waste processing.’
Thinking that he might spout such nonsense made his brain, which had been turned to mush by that shitty Ferris wheel problem, feel a bit revived.
“I’ll buy today.”
“Where do you have money?”
“I farmed last weekend. Near the grocery store.”
“Talking to yourself again.”
He quickly pulled the brat, who was fluttering about carelessly, and held his hand.
Joo-oh glanced around with a surprised face, then quietly twitched his held hand.
“Let’s go. You said you’re treating.”
The red eyes narrowed into a smile. Behind him, the bright streetlights illuminated the flowers that were being buried in the darkness.
Petals fluttered down and stuck to his black hair. Since it seemed to suit him quite well, Mu-hae looked away, pretending not to notice.
“Jin Mu-hae. Look at that.”
“Where… did you just take a photo?”
“No. I didn’t.”
“Where are you looking when you say that? My hair? Is there something on my hair?”
Joo-oh did not disappear. A new future had opened for the Return flight as well.
One day, humans would leave the Comfort zone surrounded by the dome.
For the first time, Jin Mu-hae was certain of the future.
〈I Became a Monster in a Trash Game〉 End.